IRVINE—On October 5, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a press release announcing the arrest of Wanying Zhang, aka “Heather Zhang,” of Irvine, California. According to the DOJ Complaint, Zhang was charged with one count of acting in the United States as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), spying on the family members of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official.

Zhang was reportedly arrested before her planned departure from the Los Angeles International Airport, where she was to board a flight enroute to China. Her arraignment was scheduled for October 5, in the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

According to the complaint, between June and September of 2025, Zhang acted as an agent of the PRC. This interaction was unbeknownst to, and without prior notification of the U.S. Attorney General, which is required by law.

Zhang reportedly acted under the direction of PRC officials to promote the interests of China. Among other things, she conducted the surveillance. On August 29, 2025, Zhang was flying with another individual from John Wayne Airport in Orange County to Las Vegas, NV.

On September 1, 2025, Zhang and the same individual departed from Las Vegas, NV to the Pacific Northwest where the victims of this crime reside. There was message sent by Zhang to the PRC that said, “Boarding now.” It included a photograph of her boarding pass.

Upon their arrival at their destination, Zhang sent another message to the PRC official. “Saw him, young male, it’s the young one,” adding “I am videorecording. She then sent the official license plate numbers off the vehicles parked in front of the victim’s homes.

“Protecting our National Security means confronting foreign governments that engage in covert operations in our nation. Ms. Zhang is charged with acting at the direction of Chinese government officials to spy on the family of a senior Taiwanese official here in the United States. She violated our laws and will be held accountable in our courts. We will aggressively investigate and prosecute illegal foreign operations on American soil,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California.

Roman Rozhavsky, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterinteligence and Espionage Division also issued a statement.

“The complaint in this case lays bare and a brazen plot directed by the Chinese government to conduct a covert surveillance mission on U.S. soil targeting close relatives of a Taiwanese government official.

Wanying Zhang’s arrest for allegedly acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government makes clear how far China’s authoritarian regime will go to advance its goals. However, this case also demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to defending the sovereignty of our democratic allies and combating all attempts by the Chinese government, and any foreign adversary. to conduct transnational repression within our borders.”

The FBI Los Angeles Field Office is investigating this case. If convicted, Zhang could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.